The present invention relates generally to telecommunications call processing and more particularly to call waiting service features.
Call waiting services are offered by numerous telephone service providers and are well known by those skilled in the art. Call waiting services generally notify a customer who is engaged in a first call that a second call has been placed to them. Some call waiting services utilize an audible tone that is transmitted to the customer during the first call, to notify the customer that the second call is waiting. Other call waiting services substitute the name of the calling party in place of the tone commonly used to notify the customer. In both systems, the notification of the second call is sent to the customer while they are still engaged in the first call. This notification can be distracting to both of the parties engaged in the first call. In addition, these systems typically allow the customer to answer the second call by placing the first call on hold. This causes an interruption of the first call and can also be distracting to both parties engaged in the first call.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,359 describes an alternative system to these traditional call waiting systems. In this system, the notification of the second call is sent to the customer after the first call is over, but the notification is not effective. When the system receives the second call, it stores the telephone number from which the second call was placed. After the first call is over, the system calls the customer and provides him with the stored telephone number. However, because the system only provides the telephone number from which the second call was placed it does not effectively identify the calling party. This system is particularly ineffective when the second call is placed from a telephone that is not associated with the second caller, such as a pay phone, a restaurant's phone, a business's phone, or another person's phone. Therefore, a system that overcomes these deficiencies is needed.